Research Progress on Leaf Color Variation of Tea Plant
Leaf color is a leaf character which is easy to observe and has obvious differences among tea varieties.It can be used as one of the basis for classification of tea varieties.The special varieties or under specific cultivation conditions,the leaf color of tea will change.Tea trees with specific leaf color is an important and rare germplasm resource of tea plant,which have always attracted much attention in selecting breeding of tea new varieties.The re-search mainly focuses on the discoloration mechanism of special leaf color and the special formation mechanism of related quality factors.Through reviewing the literature,the research progress on the types of leaf color variation,physiological and biochemical characteristics,special molecular mechanisms,germplasm identification and devel-opment and utilization of tea tree at home and abroad in recent years is summarized to provide reference for the re-search in the related fields at a later stage.